United States to bring Japan under its cyber defence umbrella

[AnonOps]

United States to bring Japan under its cyber defence umbrella

PUBLISHED : Sunday, 31 May, 2015, 10:04pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 31 May, 2015, 10:04pm

Reuters in Tokyo

The United States will extend its cyber defence umbrella over Japan. Photo: Reuters

The United States will extend its cyber defence umbrella over Japan, helping its Asian ally cope with the growing threat of online attacks against military bases and infrastructure such as power grids, the two nations said in a joint statement.

"We note a growing level of sophistication among malicious cyber actors, including non-state and state-sponsored actors," they said in a statement released on Saturday by the US-Japan Cyber Defence Policy Working Group, which formed in 2013.

Cybersecurity is a key area where Japan and the US are deepening their military partnership under new security guidelines released in April, that will also integrate their ballistic missile defence systems and give Tokyo a bigger security role in Asia as China's military power grows.

Both the US and Japan are wary of cyber threats, including potential attacks from China or North Korea. While the US is investing heavily in building a force to counter and retaliate against online attacks, Japan, which hosts the biggest US military contingent in Asia, has been slower to buttress its cyber defences.

The Japanese military's cyber defence unit has about 90 members, compared to more than 6,000 people at the Pentagon, a Japanese Defence Ministry official said last Thursday.

Japan is trying to catch up as it prepares to host the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and with cyber attacks on the rise. Assaults on government sites were being detected every few seconds, Japanese cyber defence experts said.

In the statement on Saturday, Japan's defence ministry pledged to "contribute to joint efforts for addressing various cyber threats, including those against Japanese critical infrastructure and services utilised by the Japan Self-Defence Forces and US forces".

US Defence Secretary Ash Carter, who met his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday, unveiled a more muscular military cyber strategy in April that stressed an ability to retaliate with cyber weapons.

That strengthened deterrence comes in the wake of high-profile attacks against corporations including the hacking of Sony Pictures last year, which the US blamed on North Korea.

North Korean defectors said last year that the secretive state had poured resources into a sophisticated cyber-warfare cell called Bureau 121, which comprised of about 1,800 "cyber warriors".

China's Defence Ministry expressed concern about the new strategy saying it would worsen tension over internet security. China is frequently accused by the US of being engaged in widespread hacking attacks, charges Beijing denies.